Valve for feed water regulators



Nov. 13, 1934. v. v. VEENSCHOTEN VALVE FOR FEED WATER REGULATORS Filed April 22, 1932 Patented Nov. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE VALVE FOR FEED WATER REGULATORS Application April 22, 1932, Serial No. 606,790"

3 Claims.

This invention relates to feed water regulators for boilers and has for its object providing an improved valve for feed water regulators.

Of the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is an elevation of a boiler with a feed water regulator attached, showing the general arrangement of the Various parts; Fig. 2 is a central sectional elevation of the regulator, showing details of a valve which embody details of my invention; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the valve seat of the regulator enlarged.

The feed Water regulator is adapted to be applied to a steam boiler, such as the boiler 5, and is adapted to operate the feed water valve 6 of the boiler which is mounted in the feed water pipe 7, this pipe being supplied in any suitable manner with a. continuous supply of water under suitable pressure. The feed water regulator cornprises a thermostatic tube 8 which is connected at its upper end by means of a pipe 9 to the steam space of the boiler, such as the steam dome 10; and the tube is also connected, by means of a pipe 11, to the water space of the boiler, or to the lower end of the water gauge 12. When connected in this manner, the elevation of the water in the tube 8 will at all times be at substantially the same height as in the boiler. As the water level in the boiler rises or sinks, the Water in the tube will rise and sink accordingly, and the thermostatic tube 8 will contract or expand accordingly.

The upper end of the tube 8 is adjustably connected to a stem 13 which passes through the stufiing-box 14. With the inner end of the stem 13 is associated the disk 15 which is arranged to coact with the valve seat 16 of the feed water valve 6. As is well understood, the pressure oi the water in the inlet 17 of the valve will be materially greater than in the outlet 18 and, in normal operation, the thermostatic tube 8 will allow the disk 15 to be forced by the water sufiiciently away from the valve seat to supply the desired amount of water to the boiler and, as the tube expands or contracts, the disk 1.5 will move away from or approach the seat 16, so as to suitably control the fiow of water to the boiler, depending upon the demand.

The stem 13 passes freely through a guide 20 and also passes freely through the disk 15, so as to allow the disk to tip slightly with reference to the stem and, at times, when the valve is to be closed, to thus fit snugly against the valve seat. With this tipping tendency, there is also a tendency of the disk to rotate more or less in operation so as to have a slight tendency to grind the valve and to vary the points of contact of the valve disk and the seat. An enlargement on the inner end of the stem holds the disk on the stem.

To prevent leakage between the disk and the stem, a cap 21 is provided which is screwed snugly against the disk and provided, if desired, with any suitable gasket. The guide 20 is preferably, as indicated, integral with the valve seat, the seat being threaded into the partition 22. Openings 23 are formed in the guide member to allow the tree passage of water therethrough.

The various members which comprise the valve are so arranged as to be very conveniently formed, by machining, out of bars, so that stainless steel or other desirable material may be used. It will be seen that the valve seat and guide can be turned into shape, the openings 23 drilled and the thread cut on the shank portion in an ordinary manner, so that the entire seat and guide member may be formed from bar stock. Similarly with the disk 15 and also with the stem 13.

An important feature of the feed water regulator comprises the method of supporting the thermostatic tube. As is understood by those familiar with the art, it is important that the slightest variation in length of the thermostatic tube shall be transferred tothe valve, so as to move the valve exactly the same amount as the tube varies in length. When so arranged, the control of the water to the boiler is such as to maintain at all times the water level elevation in the boiler at the desired point or within the desired range of limits. For this reason, there should be no loose play in connection with the- 90 system and, as will be seen, this is the case with my regulator, as the entire system is firmly bolted together and bolted to the valve casing itself by means of the side bars 22. These bars are bolted directly to the casing of the valve 6 by means of bolts 29, and the outer ends of the bars are firmly bolted to the casing 24 by means of bolts 26.

The casing 24 is arranged to enclose the spring 25 which allows excess contraction of the tube after the valve is closed. Obviously, if the tube is contracting and the valve disk is brought firmly against the seat, any further contraction of the tube must be cared for, and this is done by means of the spring. Within the casing and the spring is a tube 27 which extendsfrom the inner end of the casing 24 outwardly any suitable distance. In this instance, washers 28 and 30 are positioned on the shank 31, which is fixed to the outer end of the thermostatic tube in any suitable manner, and nuts 32 and 33 are used to firmly press the 11p washers against the end of the tube. The washer 28 also presses the spring 25 against the inner end of the casing, so that the spring is at all times held under more or less compression.

In operation, the compression of the spring 25 normally holds the shank 31 and, hence, the outer end of the tube 8 firmly in position, the inner end of the tube and the stem 13 being at liberty to move freely so as to control properly the valve opening. If, however, the valve disk 15 comes in contact with the-seat and the tube continues to contract, the spring 25 will yield suflicientlyto care for the excess contraction.

By this arrangement, it will be seen that, normally, there is no action on the spring, as it merely holds the shank 31 firmly in place in the outer ends of the bars 22 and, intact, no action of the spring is necessary until the valveis en- I tirely closed, and then only sufficient to allow for the excess contraction of the tube. In this manner, the liability of any crystallizing and breaking of the spring by continuous variations therein is eliminated, and also the compressive force of the spring is maintained constant.

It will be seen that, by bolting the bars 22 directly to the valve casing, an exceedingly strong, simple and compact means is provided for supporting the thermostatic tube, as no other support is required other than the ordinary connection by pipes to the boiler of the other end of the tube. Also, the tube itself may be thus very quickly and conveniently installed, and removed if that should be desired, and the angular arrangement of the tube with reference to the valve casing is firmly maintained.

The adjustment of the tube with reference to the valve may be produced by means of the lock nut 35. By loosening the nut, the stem 13 may be screwed farther into or out of the pipe fitting 36, thus closing or opening the valve more for a given elevation of water in the boiler. Also, by screwing the nuts 32 and 33 to the left or to the right,

adjustment can be made, or the tube 8 may be more exactly positioned with reference to the pipes 9 and 11, so as to avoid any tendency of the pipes to spring the tube 8.

A feature of consequence is the fact that the spring is enclosed by the casing and washer 28, so as to prevent dust and the like getting into the casing and injuriously affecting the spring and its operation.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a valve disk that is loose on the stem which may pass through the valve port,'and the arrangement is such that leakage between the disk and stem is prevented. In this Way, the disk in closing will always sit squarely on the seat, thus preventing leakage. At the same time, there will be no loose play between the disk and stem as the water pressure always holds them snugly together.

Also, slight variations in length of the thermostatic tube are fully effective in varying the opening of the valve port, as loose play is entirely eliminated and there isno possible yielding of the parts. This latter is brought about partly by relieving the tube of the enormous forces that are present in case of many ordinary tubes operating weights or springs with large leverages.

I claim as my invention:

1. A valve comprising a casing, a valve seat threaded into said casing, a valve stem and a valve closure, and a stem guide, said seat being 105 positioned between said closure and said guide, said stem projecting loosely through said guide, said seat and said closure, an enlargement on the inner end of the stem, said guide being connected to the seat and having fluid passageways therethrough, and said seat and guide being annular.

2. A valve as claimed in claim 1, including a cap screwed onto said closure and enclosing said, enlargement.

3. A valve as claimed in claim 1, in which said 115 guide is positioned .in the inlet of the casing.

VINCENT V. VEENSCHOTEN. 

